sabbath sentinelthe thealways knew that,” but before you dub me a complete biblical ignoramus, let...

May–June 2003 www.biblesabbath.org The Sabbath Sentinel 1BSA — The Bible Sabbath Association

“The Sabbath was made for man...” — Jesus, the Christ

Sabbath SentinelSabbath SentinelSabbath SentinelSabbath SentinelSabbath SentinelSabbath SentinelSabbath SentinelSabbath SentinelTHETHETHETHETHE

May–June 2003

2 The Sabbath SentinelThe Sabbath SentinelThe Sabbath SentinelThe Sabbath SentinelThe Sabbath Sentinel www.biblesabbath.org May–June 2003

The Sabbath Sentinel is published bimonthly by The BibleSabbath Association, 3316 Alberta Drive, Gillette, WY 82718.Copyright © 2002, by The Bible Sabbath Association. Printedin the U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any formwithout written permission is prohibited. Nonprofit bulk ratepostage paid at Springdale, Arkansas.

Editor: Kenneth Ryland, [email protected]

Associate Editors: June Narber & Shirley Nickels

BSA’s Board of Directors for 1999-2003:

President: Dr. Sidney L. Davis, [email protected] mailing address of the president:P. O. Box 1213North Chicago, IL 60064 U.S.A.

Vice Presidents: Ken Westby, Tom Justus, Calvin Burrell

Treasurer: Bryan Burrell, [email protected]

Secretary: Rich Nickels, [email protected]

Webmaster: John Paul Howell, [email protected]

Recording Secretary: June Narber, [email protected]

Directors At Large: Daniel Botkin, Mike Galimore, JohnConrod, Darrell Estep

Office Manager–Gillette Office: Shirley Nickels

Subscriptions: Call (888) 687-5191 or (307) 686-5191, or writeto: The Bible Sabbath Association, 3316 Alberta Drive, Gillette,WY 82718 or contact us at the office nearest you (see interna-tional addresses below). The Sabbath Sentinel is sent free ofcharge to all who request it. Your subscription is provided bythe voluntary contributions of the membership of the The BibleSabbath Association.

Donations are gratefully accepted and are tax deductible in theUnited States. Those who choose to voluntarily support thisinternational work to promote the Sabbath and proclaim gos-pel of the kingdom of God are welcomed as contributors.

Annual membership contributions: regular membership $25;Family Membership $30; Life Membership $500. All mem-berships include an annual subscription to The Sabbath Senti-nel. Make all checks, drafts and money orders payable to TheBible Sabbath Association. (VISA and MasterCard accepted).

The Bible Sabbath Association is dedicated to promote theseventh day Sabbath. As a nonsectarian association for Sab-bath-observing Christians, BSA accepts members who acknowl-edge Jesus Christ (Yahshua the Messiah) as their Savior, be-lieve the Bible to be the Word of the Eternal, and uphold theseventh day Sabbath. BSA takes no official position on othertheological issues, and publishes The Sabbath Sentinel as a fo-rum to promote understanding and to share items of interest toSabbath observing groups and individuals.

Opinions expressed in The Sabbath Sentinel are those of thewriters and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Edito-rial Staff or of The Bible Sabbath Association.

BSA Worldwide Web Site: http://www.biblesabbath.org

Correspondence and manuscript submissions: Address allinquiries to: Kenneth Ryland, c/o The Sabbath Sentinel, 3316Alberta Drive, Gillette, WY 82718. Phone: (307) 686-5191, E-mail: [email protected]

International addresses:Australia: Bible Sabbath Associates, Jim & Lyn Carnochan, 7Sunny Ridge Rd., Arcadia NSW 2159, E-mail:[email protected]

Address Service Requested

The Sabbath SentinelMay–June 2003 Volume 55, No. 3 Issue 501

For a FREE subscription in the U.S. and Canada:Call (888) 687-5191, email us [email protected] or visit ourwebsite at http://www.biblesabbath.org.Because of additional postage costs, werequest that international subscribers donate$20 per year (only $10 per year if they live ineither Canada or Mexico) to defray the postagecosts for international mailing, if they are ableto do so.

FEATURES4 President’s Message—A Prayer for Peace

by Dr. Sidney L. Davis5 Iraqi Christians Find Strength under

Bombardmentby Open Doors

6 The Third Dayby Dr. Daniel Botkin

8 On Being a Christian in Troubled Timesby Brian Knowles

11 “Men’s Hearts Failing them for Fear”by Tommy Willis

12 Engineers without Degreesby C. Spencer Frazier

18 The Real Fathers’ Dayby Barbara de Parada

DEPARTMENTS3 Editorial—“God and the Nations”21 The Church in the World

22 The Sabbath under Crossfire23 Classified Ads

Cover Photo: The Bee—God’s Engineer.(Source: Webshots.com)

May–June 2003 www.biblesabbath.org The Sabbath Sentinel 3

Editorial

God and the Nations

There is a part of life that for years escaped me. Butthe Lord knew that I was not seeing the entire picture,so He has, little by little, begun to pull back the veilfrom my eyes. I am beginning to discover what thefounders of this nation took for granted: that God theAlmighty Father put Jesus over the nations, and that Heis indeed King over all the nations of the earth.

Many of you may be saying to yourselves: “Well, Ialways knew that,” but before you dub me a completebiblical ignoramus, let me say, “I knew that too.” Yes,I knew the words, “Jesus is Lord and King over all na-tions,” but I never understood what it meant. And, Ithink my lack of understanding is probably typical ofmost Christians who have been brought to faith in apietistic church. Somewhere between the late Refor-mation period (when many of the modern Western na-tions were being formed) and our present day, reli-gious people lost sight of the activity of God in theaffairs of nations and retreated to the fringes of theirculture.

There are probably several reasons for this—fear ofpersecution, the natural tendency toward secularizationin Western societies, the rise of scientism (the view thatscience can answer all questions), and the advance ofDarwinism as both a scientific and social philosophy—just to name a few. Through the last half of the 19thcentury and the entirety of the 20th century the Churchhas been on the run, unable to defend itself against thesecularist onslaught—unable to answer the questionsput forth by an increasingly hostile, secularistic West-ern culture.

One of the sad results of all this has been the re-treat of the church to its “ghetto” and the abandoningof the culture to whatever fate awaited it. Rather thanfighting for righteousness throughout our societies andtheir institutions, we accepted the corner we wereplaced in and hoped that we would not be too much ofa bother to anyone. Our withdrawal has not onlybrought disastrous consequences to society at large, ithas skewed our own thinking about what it means tolive righteously within a decaying culture. We began tobelieve that it was much more righteous to escape theBabylon around us (“Come out of her my people”—

Rev. 18:4) than to overcome the world through righ-teousness. Many have forgotten Jesus’ prayer, “I praynot that thou shouldest take them out of the world,but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. Theyare not of the world, even as I am not of the world”(John 17:5,6).

I realize that these are broad generalizations andthat not all Christians follow this theology, but I alsobelieve that, for the most part, most Christians be-lieve and act in this manner. Even those who are po-litically and socially active tend to accept the notionthat there are some social and political arenas thatwe should stay out of. However we got here, we arehere and to most of us, “here” is where we shouldremain.

One of the driving principles taught by the lateFrancis Schaeffer was that Jesus is Lord of all life, notjust Lord over the Church. This of necessity means thatthe body of Christ, the Church, has a place in all of life,not just in the Church. The teachings of Christ (thoseprinciples which make us who we are as Christians) havea place at our work, in our schools, in our courts, in themilitary, and in politics. In all these arenas we are tobring the life-changing power of the Spirit of Christ tobear on policy and practice.

I shudder to think what kind of constitution this na-tion would have if Benjamin Franklin had not insistedthat George Washington lead the Constitutional Conven-tion and open each session with prayer for God’s guid-ance. If the men who wrote the U.S. Constitution thoughtas most Christians today think, the document they draftedwould probably look more like the Humanist Manifestothan our founding charter.

One thing that most Christians don’t seem to graspis that what happens within nations and between na-tions (in politics, diplomacy, and war) bears greatly onthe Church and the preaching of the gospel. This is veryevident in countries that have lost their Christian base—that foundation of godly principles that produced stableand compassionate free societies in the first place. Takethe Netherlands, for example. During the second World

Continued on Page 20


President’s Message

A Prayer for Peaceby Dr. Sidney L. Davis

Continued on Page 20

The war in Iraq brings attention to certain bib-lical facts. Modern Iraq is ancient Babylon. Southof the modern capital city of Baghdad is where theHebrew worthies Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednegorefused to bow to the image located on the plainsof Dura. Farther south still, exists the ancient cityof Ur of the Chaldees, where Abraham first heardthe call of God. In the north is Nineveh, the city towhom the prophet Jonah went with a message ofjudgment. We note the rivers Euphrates and theHiddekel, now known as the Tigris, the ancient riv-ers of what was then the land of Cush (Nimrod).These rivers not only take us back to the HebrewScriptures as important geographical locations ofbiblical history, but there is another important an-cient river that has great significance in Bible proph-ecy, the river Ulai. The Ulai River is the location ofthe great prophecy of Daniel in southeast Iraq alongthe border of Iran —ancient Persia. It is known to-day as the Karoun River. This is the prophetic sceneof the great conflict between the ram and the he-goat in Daniel chapter 8.

As events taking place in the Middle East unfoldbefore our eyes, it is becoming apparent to many thatthere may be more to the war in Iraq than meets theeye. It would appear “He [that] removeth kings, andsetteth up kings” (Dan.2:21) has seen fit through theseevents to have our attention focused on the MiddleEast.

Sabbath History in Iraq

A number of important Jewish figures are reputedto be buried in Iraq, among them Jehoiachin, the Kingof Judah who was part of the original Babylonian ex-ile, and Nehemiah, who oversaw the fortification ofJerusalem after the building of the Second Temple. Theprophet Ezekiel is said to be buried near the town ofHilla in central Iraq. Tradition places the tomb of Jonahopposite to Mosul, and names it “Nebbi Junus” (thatis, “prophet Jonah”). At Alkush (Elkosh) near Mosul issaid to be the location of the town and the tomb ofthe prophet Nahum who also prophesied againstNineveh (Nahum 1:1).

Babylonia was at one time the religious, cultural,and scholarly centre of the Jewish world, the birth-place of the Babylonian Talmud. Babylon becamethe bastion of Judaism and Sabbath-keeping Chris-tianity until the middle ages when it was overrunby Islam. Iraq is also the region of the ancient East-ern Church known historically as the Nestorians whowhere Sabbath keepers. They have evolved to be-come known as the Assyrian Christians who, thoughstill acknowledging their Sabbath heritage, haveover time given greater liturgical significance toSunday. The bastions of Sabbath keeping in Iraqtoday are the small communities of Jews, who main-tain their 2,500 year old presence, and Seventh-dayAdventists, who have been in Iraq since the early1920’s. There are three Adventists congregationsin the country including one in the city of Ninevehand another in Baghdad where about 200 mem-bers meet in a church. The SDA church is one of 13churches recognized by the government of Iraq.Despite the war and bombings, the SDA church inBaghdad still continues its witness in holding Sab-bath services.

What of the Future?

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency(ADRA) is soon to begin humanitarian relief operationsin northern Iraq, along with other international reliefagencies. Their project will organize and operate campsfor approximately 2,700 internally displaced personsin that region. Along with providing needed essentials,ADRA is also organizing a team of doctors and healthworkers to provide medical care.

Iraqi coalition leaders are meeting in the ancientbiblical city of Ur (near Nasiriya) to discuss plans forthe country’s future. The diversity of Iraq’s religioussects and ethnic groups gives hope for a secular gov-ernment against the majority Moslem Shi’ite majoritywho have been demonstrating for an Islamic govern-ment similar to that of Iran, which is also predomi-nantly Shi’ite.


AMMAN, Jordan, March 28 — “Your prayers for ushave made a difference and continue to lift our spir-its,” say Christians in Iraq even as they experience thebombardment of coalition forces against Baghdad,Mosul, Kirkuk, Basraand other cities.

The morale among people we have spoken to ishigher than we expected, said a Christian in contact withthe church in Iraq. On Sunday (March 23), some of ourfriends went to church in the morning. During the Lord’sPrayer, as they finished the words “and deliver us fromevil,” they heard a terribleexplosion not far away.They know that God is withthem, protecting and en-couraging them.

One man said that atthe beginning of the con-flict, everyone in the con-gregation was feelingdrained and worn downwith fear, but as they feltGod speaking to them, tell-ing them to be encourag-ers for others, theirstrength returned, andthey now feel strongerthan they did before thewar started.

Several Christians havehad their houses damagedby bombs, and one womanhas had to be treated forshrapnel injuries. But theconflict has also brought asense of solidarity and sup-port among the small Christian communities: peopleare ready to help in any way they can, make tempo-rary house repairs, and provide what supplies they can.

A Christian woman recovering from a recent op-eration for cancer is afraid at times but looking for-ward to the day when she can welcome foreign visi-tors into her home again. Her niece said that when the

bombing starts, they get together and sing and prayuntil it subsides.

One priest’s wife was crying on the phone: she isworried for her eldest daughter who becomes terri-fied when the planes are heard. But they support eachother in the family and try to keep active in seeing tothe needs of the church members.

This conflict has forced us to live for each otherand focus on helping each other get through thesetimes of great danger. But we trust in God’s support,

His protection andstrength, one Iraqi Chris-tian said.

The Christians are alsoaware of the sufferings oftheir Muslim neighbors andtry to offer help. Their wit-ness and compassion willhave a far-reaching impactupon their communities,said one Christian leader.

For the many unofficialchurches in Iraq, the startof hostilities has been amixed blessing. With theattention of the authoritiesfocused on the invasionand the aerial bombard-ment, there is somewhatless pressure on them.

However, it would nottake much for the authoritiesto turn on the members ofthe underground churches,

accusing them of being in league with the West. Eventhe traditional Christian communities run the risk ofbecoming targets of retaliation for Muslim extremists,and the longer the war continues, the more the Chris-tians in Iraq are vulnerable.

————————————

Source: http://www.opendoorsusa.org/

Iraqi Christians Find StrengthUnder Bombardment

The majority of Christians in Iraq live in northern Iraq, indi-cated by the dark, circular area.


When Paul described the essentials of the Gospel,he stated that the Messiah rose from the dead “thethird day according to the scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:4). Towhat scriptures was Paul referring? To the Old Testa-ment, of course, but where does the Old Testamentsay that the Messiah would rise from the dead specifi-cally on the third day?

When Peter preached about the Resurrection on theDay of Pentecost, he cited Psalm 16:10 as a prophecy ofthe Messiah’s Resurrection, but Psalm 16 does notspecify the third day. Which Old Testament scripturesclearly specify the third day when prophesying theMessiah’s Resurrection? If a reader looks in the Old Tes-tament for a direct statement that plainly announces“the Messiah will be resurrected the third day” (or wordsto that effect), he will search in vain for any such state-ment. So how could Paul have said that a third-day Res-urrection was “according to the scriptures”?

A truth does not have to be plainly stated in the Biblein clear, easy-to-understand language in order to be “ac-cording to the scriptures.” The rabbis of Paul’s day knewthis, and today’s rabbis know this. The rabbis even teachthat there are four levels of understanding when study-ing the Scriptures. The four levels are peshat (tvp, thesimple, literal meaning of the text), remez (zmr, hint, al-lusion, allegory), derash (vrd, exposition, homileticalcommentary), and sod (dwo, mystery, secret, esotericteaching). The initial letters of these four Hebrew wordsform the acronym odrp - PaRDeS, the Hebrew word forgarden, and the source of our English word paradise.

The Messiah’s Resurrection on the third day is notprophesied in the peshat form, but it is prophesied inthe remez form, and is therefore, as Paul put it, “ac-cording to the scriptures.” It is interesting that the Tal-mud speaks about a relationship between the thirdday and the resurrection of the dead. Alfred Edersheim,in The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, wrotethat “the Rabbis insist on the importance of ‘the thirdday’ in various events connected with Israel, and spe-cially speak of it in connection with the resurrection ofthe dead, referring in proof to Hosea 6:2 [‘After twodays will he revive us: in the third day he will raise usup, and we shall live in his sight’]” (p. 631).

Apparently this connection between the third dayand the resurrection of the dead was understood even

before Yeshua’s Resurrection. When writing about thecustoms of first-century Jews, Edersheim states that“the relatives and friends of the deceased were in thehabit of going to the grave up to the third day (whenpresumably corruption was supposed to begin), so asto make sure that those laid there were really dead...In mourning also the third day formed a sort of pe-riod, because it was thought that the soul hoveredround the body till the third day, when it finally partedfrom its earthly tabernacle” (p. 631).

Other than the Hosea 6:2 passage, on what basisdid the rabbis see a connection between the third dayand the resurrection of the dead? Edersheim does notgo into detail. The only other passage he mentions isGenesis 22:4, which states that it was “on the thirdday” when Abraham saw the place where he was tooffer Isaac. This is interesting in light of the fact thatFather Abraham’s offering of his son, followed by theson’s rescue from off the altar, is a prophetic pictureof the sacrifice and Resurrection of the Son of God.

There are many other Old Testament references tothe third day, and some hints of resurrection can be seenquite easily in some of these. The very first reference tothe third day is in Genesis 1:13, when “the evening andthe morning were the third day.” On the third day of thisfirst week of creation, the grass, herbs, and trees emergedfrom the earth. New life bursting forth out of the earth isan obvious picture of resurrection. The traditional Jewishblessing over bread also points us back to this first occur-rence of the third day, when God first brought forth lifeand life-giving grains from the earth: “Blessed art Thou,O Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forthbread from the earth.” This was probably the blessingYeshua spoke over the unleavened bread immediatelybefore He said, “Take, eat; this is My body” (Mt. 26:26) atHis last Passover. Prophetically He was telling His disciples,“Just as My Father brings forth bread from the earth(something He did on the third day of creation), so Hewill bring forth My body from the earth on the third day.This resurrection life will be the life of the new creation.Just as you receive physical life from the bread of thiscreation, so you will receive spiritual life through My Res-urrection in the new creation.”

The story of Joseph in Egypt includes two eventsthat occurred on the third day. Pharaoh’s butler was

The Third Dayby Dr. Daniel Botkin


released from prison and restored to his former posi-tion (unlike Pharaoh’s baker, who was executed). (Gen.40:20ff) It was also on the third day that Joseph re-leased his brothers from prison and said to them, “Thisdo, and live...” (Gen. 42:18). Release, restoration, andlife after prison, all on the third day, can be seen as apicture of resurrection on the third day.

In Exodus 19:11 & 15, the children of Israel were toldto be ready on the third day, “for the third day Yahwehwill come down in the sight of all the people upon mountSinai.” The manifestation of the glory of Yahweh on thethird day at Sinai parallels the manifestation of the gloryof Yahweh on the third day at the Tomb when the Mes-siah rose from the dead in resurrection glory.

A generation after the giving of the Torah, whenJoshua led the people into the Promised Land, theyprepared to cross the Jordan “after three days” (Josh.3:2). Crossing the Jordan after three days and thusgoing from the wilderness into the Promised Land isanother picture of resurrection. This picture in Joshuais especially vivid to those who know that Jesus’ He-brew name was the same as a shortened form ofJoshua’s name. In Nehemiah 8:17, Joshua’s name iswritten ewvy—Yeshua.

Here are just a few other events which suggest aconnection between the third day and resurrection.King Hezekiah was healed on the third day and therebygiven a Divine reprieve (a resurrection of sorts) afteran earlier divine death sentence had been pronouncedagainst him (2 Kings 20:1-5). When the Jews leftBabylon to rebuild (“resurrect”) the Temple, it was fin-ished on the third day of the month (Ezra 6:15; com-pare John 2:19-21, “‘Destroy this temple, and in threedays I will raise it up’... But He spake of the temple ofHis body”). It was on the third day that Queen Estherapproached King Ahasuerus to request that the livesof her people be spared (“resurrected”) from the irre-versible death sentence which had been decreedagainst them (Esther 5:1).

Of course the one Old Testament event which fore-shadows Yeshua’s resurrection in a very obvious man-ner is the sign of Jonah. Yeshua Himself pointed toJonah’s experience as a prophetic sign of His own res-urrection. “An evil and adulterous generation seekethafter a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, butthe sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was threedays and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the

Son of man be three days and three nights in the heartof the earth” (Mt. 12:39f).

The Apostles and the hundreds of other eyewit-nesses of the resurrected Messiah did not need theScriptures to convince them that the Resurrection hadhappened. They knew from firsthand personal experi-ence that their Rabbi and Lord had risen from the dead.“That which we have seen and heard declare we untoyou,” John wrote (1 Jn. 1:3). “For we have not followedcunningly devised fables,” Peter wrote, “...but [we]were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Pet. 1:16). Onthe day of Pentecost Peter said, “This Yeshua hath Godraised up, whereof we all are witnesses” (Acts 2:32).

These first-hand eyewitnesses of the resurrectiondid not need the Scriptures to convince them of thereality of the resurrection. Those of us in later genera-tions do not have the opportunity to be among thosefirst-century eyewitnesses, but the prophecies of theScriptures confirm that which the inward witness ofthe Spirit tells us—that Yeshua of Nazareth rose fromthe dead on the third day.—————————————This article is reprinted from the Gates of Eden newslet-ter, March-April 2003. Dr. Daniel Botkin is a member ofthe board of directors of the BSA and the publisher ofGates of Eden. Dr. Botkin is also the leader of the Gates ofEden Messianic Congregation of Peoria, Illinois.See the Gates of Eden Web site at http://www.gatesofeden.org/.

Feast of Tabernacles 2003Grand Junction, Colorado

Adam’s Mark HotelOctober 10-18

Hosted by the Christian Church of God,Grand Junction

This is an unaffiliated festival site.All are welcome.

For more information visit our web siteat

www.geocities.com/gjfestivalor write us at:

Christian Church of GodP.O. Box 2111

Grand Junction, CO 81502


For a wide variety of reasons, it is becoming, inour time, ever more challenging to live life as a Chris-tian. The long accepted order of things is being desta-bilized. Old boundaries are disappearing and paradigmsare shifting — sometimes abruptly. We live in a worldin which it is hard to know what one can count on.

As I write, the United States and the United King-dom are at war with Iraq. US forces are present in morethan 40 nations around the world. The world is anunstable place with a small but growing army of dic-tators, tyrants and usurpers opportunistically compet-ing for power at every turn.

The United Nations is anything but united. As apeacemaking organization, it is virtually useless. It ismorally and ethically bankrupt. As a forum for anti-USsentiment, it reigns supreme. As a threat to the sover-eignty of nations, it has no equal. The UN actively andovertly pursues a new global order in which it pro-vides the basis for what will undoubtedly be a socialiststyle world government (though it pays lip service tothe idea of democracy).

Christians of all stripes are under siege through-out much of the world — especially in communist andIslamic nations. Tens of thousands of Christians aremurdered each year in socialist police states and byreligious fanatics. As Christians suffer and die for theirfaith, the world stands largely mute.

Internally, the Church is a house divided againstitself in myriad ways. As an influence on society, it hasbecome largely irrelevant and impotent. It has virtu-ally no influence on society. Rather, society is influenc-ing it to its detriment. There is no such thing as a “Chris-tian consensus” about much of anything. Christianssquabble with each other over virtually every point ofbelief, doctrine and practice. Organizationally, thereare tens of thousands of Christian denominations inthe world — each claiming to be an authentic mani-festation of “the Church.” For a new person, enteringfor the first time into the Christian world, it has theappearance of utter chaos. Who is right? Who has TheTruth? Whom do I follow? Denominations compete fornew members, money and support. Disoriented, con-fused, Christians exit at an alarming rate by the backdoor of the churches they’ve entered. Hope is often

dashed on the rocks of disillusionment. Being a Chris-tian wasn’t what they thought it would be.

In stormy times like these, we all need to find reli-able navigation, firm anchors and safe harbors. In themodern world, such things are elusive or non-existent.All that we once thought we could count on is beingincrementally disassembled. Nothing is “for sure.” Allbets are off. A new army of destructive barbarians ismarauding its way back and forth across the face ofthe earth leaving in its wake misery, heartache anddeath. Only half our nation stands firmly against it.The other half seems to seek to give it aid and com-fort. Meanwhile, the Church — whatever that is — isin disarray. What, in the face of all this chaos, is a Chris-tian supposed to do?

Eyes on ChristBefore Jesus departed this earth to be with God the

Father, he gave his disciples certain instructions and part-ing messages. One of them is recorded in John 14:15ff.Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.”

So the first thing every Christian must do, no mat-ter what is happening around him or her, is to explicitlyfollow the teachings of Jesus Christ. On another occa-sion Jesus had asked, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord,and do not the things that I say?” (Luke 6:46). Doingthe things Jesus said that we ought to be doing shouldbe an ongoing preoccupation with every Christian, nomatter what his or her denomination teaches or fails toteach. We have four accounts of what Jesus said anddid: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Between them, wecan acquire a pretty good fix on what Jesus meant bydoing the things that he said. It’s a matter of readingthem, and following Jesus’ instructions to the degreethat we can understand them, and in the places werewe can’t, studying, digging and researching until wedo. Books like Jesus the Jewish Theologian and TheParables by Dr. Brad Young are very helpful in this re-gard (see Recommended Reading List under the Hebrewroots studies heading at the ACD website: http://www.godward.org/).

Returning to Jesus’ final instructions to his disciples,we find him saying, “And I will pray to the Father, andhe shall give you another Comforter, that he may beabide with you forever” (John 14:16). The word here-

On Being a Christianin Troubled Times

by Brian Knowles


translated “Comforter” is the Greek parakletos. Itmeans in the active sense “helper” or “intercessor.” Bythe very wording of this verse – “another Comforter”— the same title is implied for Jesus himself. But it isonly the Holy Spirit that is expressly called “Helper” inthe fourth gospel (cf. John 14:16,26; 15:26; 16:7).When Jesus was physically present with his disciples,he was their helper, their intercessor. After he ascendedto Heaven following his resurrection, the Holy Spiritwas sent to aid the Church. For us, it is the empower-ing aspect of Deity (Acts 1:8). It is the Holy Spirit thatenables us to accomplish anything beyond the naturalcapacities of the flesh and the mind.

The Role of the SpiritThe terms “Spirit of God” and “Spirit of Christ” are

sometimes used interchangeably in Paul’s writings. Forexample, he says to the Romans, “But ye are not in theflesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of Goddwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit ofChrist, he is none of his” (Romans 8:9).

Real Christianity is not merely a “religion.” To havethe Spirit of God or that of Christ is to be “in” theSpirit. The indwelling of God’s Spirit is what makes aperson a real Christian (I Corinthians 12:13). If we lackthe Spirit of God, we are not authentic Christians, nomatter how religious we might be.

The indwelling Spirit of God not only empowersbelievers, it transforms their minds and revamps theirthinking. To the degree that the Spirit of God influ-ences us, we think less and less like the world out ofwhich we were called, and more and more like Christwho was the perfect reflection of God. Note Paul’swords: “be not conformed to this world: but be yetransformed by the renewing of your mind that youmay prove [put to the test] what is that good, andacceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2).

As our minds are renewed by the influence of theSpirit, our worldview changes. We now have a newroadmap with which to navigate the world — in factwe have two: the written Word of God and the guid-ing, helping, empowering Holy Spirit. Instead of seeingthe world from within, we view it from without. We arein it, but not of it. Increasingly, as the Holy Spirit playsan ever-larger role in our lives, we develop a “God’s-eye” view of the world. We learn to see as God sees,and to think as God thinks. Paul said, “Let this mind bein you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).

The Spirit of Christ should produce in us the mindof Christ. Increasingly, we should be adopting Christ-like viewpoints, attitudes and behaviors. By means ofthe Spirit, we make the transition from natural, carnalpeople to spiritual people. Paul explained this processto the Corinthians: “But the natural man receives notthe things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishnessunto him: neither can he know them, because they arespiritually discerned.

“But he that is spiritual judges all things, yet hehimself is judged by no man. For who hath known themind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But wehave the mind of Christ” (I Corinthians 2:14-16).

There is a natural person, and there is a spiritual per-son. The difference is the presence or absence of the in-fluence of the Spirit of God. To the unconverted carnalmind, the concerns and issues of Spirit-led Christians seemabsurd, foolish, superstitious or stupidly religious. A spiri-tual person has a God’s eye view of the world. He or sheunderstands fully what’s going on “out there” becausethe Spirit of God brings about a different kind of “see-ing.” The word of God explains to Christians the natureof the world. The Spirit of God enables us to understandthe Word. The nature of the Christian destiny is also ex-plained by the Spirit of God: “But as it is written, Eyehath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered intothe heart of man, the things which God hath preparedfor them that love him. But God hath revealed them untous by his Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yea, thedeep things of God” (I Corinthians 2:9-10).

Spiritual SeeingSpiritual seeing is seeing on a higher plane. To see

with spiritual eyes is to realize that there is more tothe world than is apparent to the eyes of flesh. It is tosee deeper, higher, and beyond the confines of thematerial world. It is to comprehend that in spite of thedaily horrors of life on this planet, God has somethingbetter in mind for his children. It is to know that de-spite our illnesses, weaknesses and human bondages,God has something better in mind for us. As the Wordsays of Messiah, “The Sun of righteousness shall arisewith healing in his wings” (Malachi 4:2).

Jesus is the Savior, the Deliverer. He has the answersto all human dilemmas and problems. He is “the way,the truth and the life.” He is the King of kings and theLord of lords. There is no problem he cannot solve, noillness or damage that he cannot heal, no demon that hecannot cast out or subdue. Our relationship with God inChrist through the Spirit is at the heart of what it meansto be a Christian in troublous times. We must put energyinto this relationship. We must spend time in the Scrip-tures, studying what it means to be a follower of Yeshuaha Mashiach — Jesus the Anointed One. Once we havestudied his teachings and example, and have learned whatit is that he requires of us, we must begin living it. To doso, we will have to learn to walk, not merely in the powerof our own flesh, but in the Spirit.

The Importance of Good WorksMatthew 5:14-16 says this: “Ye are the light of the

world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid [appar-ently a reference to a city that is today called Safed].Neither do men light a candle, and put it under abushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light untoall that are in the house.


“Let our light so shine before men, that they maysee your good works, and glorify your father which isin heaven.”

Christians should not be noted for their scandals,their internal warfare, their doctrinal squabbles, andtheir endless reorganizations, disfellowshippings andmarkings. They should not be famous for their law-suits or their contentious nature. They should be knownfor their good works.

What are good works? Good works simply meansministering to people at their points of real need. By“people” I mean any people. Jesus didn’t hang out withthe Jewish or Roman establishments of his day (thoughhe did go to a Pharisee’s house for dinner on one oc-casion). He spent time with those who needed him,those who had the humility to listen to what he said.Let’s take a look at Luke 5:27-32. A man named Levi, atax collector, was invited by Rabbi Jesus to becomeone of his talmidim — one of his rabbinic students.Levi accepted the invitation. To celebrate the end ofhis old life, and the beginning of his new one withJesus, he held a great feast in his own house. (Tax col-lectors were often quite wealthy. Within Judaism, taxcollecting is found on various lists of “despised profes-sions.”) Levi invited his friends and fellow tax collec-tors to join them for the banquet. When a certain groupof scribes and Pharisees got wind of the banquet, theysought to discredit Jesus for the company he was keep-ing. Jesus then pointed out that “they that are wholeneed not a physician, but they that are sick. I came notto call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Many of the scribes and Pharisees, though not allof them, were unable to recognize their own sinful-ness. They did not consider themselves to be “sick.”They presumed that they should be the teachers andthat Jesus, if anything, should listen to them. So Jesuswas unable to lead them to repentance.

With the tax collectors and other sinners, it was adifferent matter. They had the humility to recognizethat they were sinners, and that Jesus could help themwith their problem. You will often find that the onlypeople you can really minister to are people who havelost all pride and who openly acknowledge their needi-ness. It is the poor, the broken, and the humble whoare able to receive the message of the Gospel. Thehaughty, the proud, the self-sufficient, the know-it-alls, usually reject it. Look for people who have thehumility to receive what you have to give, and thengive it gently, with love, kindness and consideration— always protecting that broken person’s humanityand dignity.

If someone is proud, unteachable, resistant, con-tentious and self-satisfied, avoid them like the plague.If you try to reach them, you are casting your pearlsbefore swine. I believe that we have to come to the endof ourselves before we come to the beginning of God.

Now notice John 13:34-35: “A new commandmentI give unto you. That ye love one another, as I haveloved you, that you also love one another.

“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,if ye have love one to another.”

If we hate each other, argue endlessly with eachother about every point of doctrine, reject and shuneach other, and avoid each other so that we don’t haveto meet anyone’s needs, what kind of Christians arewe? We don’t have to agree with each other on everypoint of doctrine to love one another. (Study Romans14 closely on this subject.)

We need to open up our horizons and expand ourvision. We need to recognize the fact that there are trueChristians in just about any church, and false ones inmost churches. The wheat and the tares grow togetheruntil the harvest. The harvest hasn’t happened yet. Sowe have to live with that reality. But help the peoplewho can be helped, and ignore those who don’t wantyour help. Love those who will accept your love, andleave the others alone. Don’t cast pearls indiscriminately.

What we have as God’s children is precious. Wedon’t want to give it away thoughtlessly. We must treatit as precious and share it as something of great value.

We do live in dangerous times. Christians are beingslaughtered around the world at a rate of about 100,000a year, and no one is rushing to their aid. Even otherChristians are passive in the face of this carnage. (If youwant more information on this, go to the web page ofVoice of the Martyrs.) We need to be ready to ministerto our brethren who are suffering, and then to anyoneGod sticks in front of our faces. We need to be shoringup our faith for the trials ahead. We need to come toconviction about what we really believe, and may bewilling to die for. We are going to have to live with ter-rorism for the foreseeable future. It’s like roaches or ants,there’s almost no way to get them all. And if you don’tkill them in their lair, they’ll always come back.

To sum up: Live a clean, godly life. Live morallyand live a life of good works. Pray and intercede for allwho need it. Help those who have the humility to ac-cept your help. Find the broken people and get themfixed. Be ready at all times to help whomever God plantsin front of your face. In helping people, always pre-serve their dignity and their humanity. Never ever em-barrass or humiliate another human being created inthe image of God. Be kind to people, be gentle withthem. Don’t cast pearls. Be honest in all your dealings.Be trustworthy and full of integrity. Live as much asyou can an exemplary life, and don’t give anybodyanything to legitimately criticize.

And remember this: who you are when nobody’swatching is who you really are.———————————Reprinted from the Web site of the Association forChristian Development, http://www.godward.org/.


Luke 21:25-26: “And there will be signs in the sun, inthe moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of na-tions, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’shearts failing them from fear and the expectation of thosethings which are coming on the earth, for the powers ofheaven will be shaken” (NKJV).

If we put the above Scripture together with many oth-ers that talk about the end of the age, we will see that thetime ahead will be like no other. Mankind is about to enterthe wildest ride in history.

After Sept 11, the number of people going to profes-sional counselors increased dramatically in some areas ofthe country. Just think of that, and then think of what Godsays will happen during the end time, and you will see thefear that will come upon many.

Just the affairs of everyday life have many people onedge; they are crippled emotionally by fears that things won’twork out. And it will only get worse as many of the thingsthat people put confidence in come tumbling down as thetwin towers did on Sept 11.

Many of the things people put their trust in will fall. Ourpaycheck will not pull us through; and many matters of gov-ernment programs such as Social Security have some expertsvoicing their concerns that it will not last either. And we willneed to learn to deal with the fear that many will get into asthese matters come upon us.

This old world is getting ready to be shaken as it hasnever been shaken before. Everything that is not groundedon Jesus Christ can be shaken. This is why we cannot stressenough the need to get our foundation down in Jesus Christ.As you get grounded in Jesus Christ you won’t collapse whenthe fabric of society does; and you won’t collapse if the Churchorganizations continue to collapse, because your trust will bein God.

In the world there will be trials and tribulation; but Godtells us we can rest in His peace in a troubled world if wewill seek Him as we should: “Peace I leave with you, mypeace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I untoyou. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”(John 14:27). God will teach us to relax in His peace amidthe chaos of the times.

But like a hamster on a treadmill, too often we squanderour time with fear and worry. We go through “mental gymnas-tics”, saying, “What if that happens”, or “what if this happens.”And we make ourselves miserable.

No matter how bad the chaos gets in the world, we needto keep in mind what God promises us in 1 Corinthians

“Men’s Hearts Failing Them for Fear”

By Tommy Willis

10:13, that He won’t allow us to go through more than wecan handle. That’s a comfort that will help us deal with ourfears.

1Pet 4:12-13: “Beloved, do not think it strange con-cerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though somestrange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent thatyou partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory isrevealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy” (NKJV).

The “fiery trial” is a point of refinement.In relating to the end time the book of Daniel says: “And

he said, go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed upand sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purifiedand made white, and tried…” (Dan 12:9-10). And the try-ing of our faith is more precious than gold. We must holdfast in these trials; fear can cause us to get out of focus withit all.

Many things will come along that can cause fear in ourlives; and we need to take the steps that God says to take inorder to deal with the fear. In Ps 34:4, David says, “I soughtthe Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all myfears”. Here we see that David had fears like we all do, buthe took action to do something about them. We need to dothe same. As we seek God out diligently, He will distill thefears and have us walk in His peace.

Just think of the disciples who ran in fear when Jesuswas arrested. The Scriptures say they all forsook Him andfled. Then just fifty days later, men who had acted like cow-ards went on to astound the world with courage, becausenow the One who bled and died for us was in them to pro-duce. And that’s what is important for us to understand, thatwe need the ability of God inside us to deal with the fear.

When Jesus said you shall know the truth and the truthshall make you free; this includes freedom from fear. Butmany Christians relate to truth as being only the doctrinesand fail to see that it is a Person. Freedom from fear lies inthe Living Liberator.

As we get to know Jesus Christ and how much He caresfor us, and how much we can depend on Him, He will de-liver us from the fears that often paralyze us; and we willlearn to relax in His peace. “For God has not given us thespirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a soundmind.” (2 Tim 1:7). ❑

———————————Reprinted from “Shelter in the Word,” Sept.-Oct. 2002:Church Bible Teaching Ministries, P.O. Box 107, Perry,Michigan 48872-0107. For information, [email protected].


Creation Corner

Engineers without DegreesThe World of Bees and Termites

byC. Spencer Frazier

Our son, Jeff, spent four years in high school tak-ing many courses, among them algebra, geometry,calculus, and the like. Then he continued on to PurdueUniversity’s engineering school where he spent fouryears studying even more difficult courses. Finally, ayear ago he was awarded an engineering degree inComputer Science. His story is much the same as hu-man engineers all around the world.

But What If?But what if we could find feats of engineer-

ing performed by creatures with no training orschooling? What if we could find creatures innature executing complex engineering projects?What then?

Imagine an engineer given a special assignment tomaintain a constant 93 degree temperature in awooden box about 2 feet square and 3 feet high. Thetemperature can vary by only one-quarter of one de-gree. Not challenging enough? Suppose we add twomore conditions to the project:1) Use of electricity is not allowed.2) It must work in all types weather for thousands ofyears without failure.

Do you think the brightest and highest trainedhuman engineers in the world using the latest equip-ment available could accomplish this assignment? Idon’t think they could.

Complicated Engineering ProjectsYet this assignment is being done routinely every

day all over the world! The difference is, it is not doneby human engineers. It is done routinely by honey bees.The book Microscosmos(1) explains, “The temperatureinside a beehive during the summer months stays at avirtually constant 93 degrees (to within +0.25 degrees),since this is the ideal temperature for the developmentof larvae. When the temperature drops, the bees re-lease heat by vibrating their thoracic muscles withoutmoving their wings. When the temperature rises toohigh, they fan the overheated air by rapidly beatingtheir wings and by bringing water from the outside tocool the hive. This efficient thermal control is madepossible by the specialized receptors in bee antennae,

which can detect variations in temperature to withinone-quarter of one degree.”

Let’s stop and analyze what was summarized sobriefly by the authors.

An Analysis of Surprising InformationFirst, a difference of one degree is an incredibly

narrow range. Each bee must act very quickly either toincrease or decrease the temperature! But, we’re justtalking about one be because thousands of bees oper-ate all together as a unit. This brings up some veryinteresting questions:

• How are the directions given?• How does the group know when to start either

beating their wings to lower the temperature orto vibrate their thoracic muscles to raise it?

• How do they know when to get water?• How much water is needed?• Who stays to beat their wings and who goes for

water?We are told by some evolutionists that bees,

along with the rest of us, evolved from somethinglike fruit flies. How did the first generation of 100%honey bees know a constant temperature was evenneeded for their offspring to be born? How did theyknow it was exactly 93 degrees? After all, if the firstgeneration of offspring had not performed theirfunctions exactly right, there would have been nomore chances for experimentation up and down thetemperature range. We are told it is always survivalof the fittest. There are some 15 million insect spe-cies. 14 million and some odd other insect specieshave no such critical temperature requirement fortheir offspring to be born. Now consider this: a 93degree temperature requirement has to be a hugeimpediment to survival. Under the theory of “sur-vival of the fittest,” a species with such an enormousdrawback would have died out millions of years ago,while those species with more lenient requirementswould have survived.

Think for a moment about what the authors de-scribe as, “This efficient temperature control is madepossible by the specialized receptors in bee antennae,


which can detect variations in temperature to withinone-quarter of one degree.”

Why did these specialized receptors evolve just inbees? Fruit flies don’t have them. Imagine such a recep-tor. It is probably the size of several dots strung togetherat the end of this sentence. How could something thattiny measure temperatures to within one-quarter of onedegree? Does that seem incredible to you?

The authors agree by writing, “The “sense of tem-perature” which is also located in the antennae of manyinsects, “is a much more mysterious sense. Our owncapacities in this regard remain extremely modest.”

I think in the tiny honeybee’s 93-degree tempera-ture maintenance we see an engineering marvel— onethat man cannot duplicate, given the same materials,despite all of his technology and university studies.

Temperature MaintenanceThe book The World of Bees(2) tells us more: “An-

other example is the task of ventilation. The bees humpthemselves up and move their wings about 400 timesper second on the landing areaof the hive. The hotter it getsinside, or the more moisture-laden the air becomes, thegreater the number of bees thatwill stand there fanning.” Theauthor goes on to ask a goodquestion, “Who tells them theymust? Nobody as far as anyonecan ascertain.”

He continues, “The beeshave figured out the world’sfirst air-conditioning system.When the weather gets very,very hot, the temperature mayshoot up in spite of plain beefanning. The bees, if it becomenecessary when plain fanning isnot doing the job, lay asideother tasks.

They go out, find water, andbring it back in their honeystomachs in place of nectar.Hundreds of them, even thou-sands of them carry it. Theyspread it on the combs, on theinside walls of the hive. Theevaporation of the water coolsthe inside of the hive. It providesa crude, but very effective air-conditioning.”

Author Murray Hoyt then asks, “Who taught thebees this engineering principle? Who tells them whento put it into practice? No one knows.”

Hoyt tells us about the efficiency of bees even incases of fire. “In one case of a barn fire, the heat was

so great “that the nearby bee hive nearly burst intoflame.” Later it was found “that all the bees had ral-lied around during the fire and worked on the air-con-ditioning. Many bees fanned furiously throughout thefire at the door on the side away from the flames. Thou-sands carried water. And when the hive top was liftedoff, everything was intact inside. The outside wall wasscorched and burned but the bees had saved their waxstructure, their stores, and their colony life.”

Hoyt sums it all up by concluding, “Through engi-neering know-how their life pattern is highly efficient.”

Could There be Termite Engineers?Karl von Frisch, a scientist awarded a Nobel Prize

in 1973, is famous for his study of how bees com-municate nectar sources by performing intricate,coded dances. Dr. von Frisch’s well researched andmost informative book Animal Architecture(3), be-cause of his support for evolution, makes his obser-vations all the more striking. Dr. Von Frisch calls ter-mites “masters in building and engineering.” Let’s

see why he says this.“There are more than two

thousand species of termites liv-ing in tropical and subtropicalregions … All known termite spe-cies, like all ant species, are so-cial insects. Their colonies mayhave over 10 million individuals.Termite nests may be giganticstructures...some are 21 feethigh.

“We have even more causefor wonder when we considerthe whole range of termite build-ings and the way they areadapted to the most diverse cli-matic conditions of the countriesthey inhabit…

“Take, for example, certainspecies of the genus Cubitermesthat live in tropical rain forests.They put roofs with overhang-ing eaves on their tall mounds,which make them look like pa-godas and serve to keep the tor-rential rains off the mainstructure…Termites in aridzones do not build such roofs,

showing they definitely are umbrellas, not sunshades.“The treeless steppeland of Australia, baked by the

scorching heat of the midday sun, is the home of thecompass termites (Amitermes meridionalis). Their tower-ing structures, which may be up to fifteen feet high, andnine feet long, look as if they had been compressed fromtwo sides. Their two short sides face exactly north and

Queen with identification mark on thorax(left), worker bee (upper right) and drone(lower right). (California Dept. of Agriculture)


south, so that the surface exposed to the rays of the mid-day sun is small, while the long sides catch the eveningand morning sun...A traveler can quickly get his bearingsby looking at the direction of these mounds.”

Then the author asks a question for us, “But howdo the blind termites orient them so perfectly withouta compass? The method by which the compass ter-mites achieve their spectacular results has not yet beenstudied.”

Termite Air Conditioning?Von Frisch’s next heading is the surprising one of:

“Air-conditioning in termite dwellings.” Yes, it seemsair-conditioning is not an invention of human engi-neers after all!

Von Frisch explains:“The interior architecture of many termite species

is even more astounding. The distribution of the vari-ous chambers according to their different purposes isevidence of a definite building plan. But the function-ing of a large termitary requires not only the system-atic layout of the chambers, but convenient space forthe royal cell, the quarters for the different age groups,the fungus gardens, and the associated network ofcommunications.

“When a mound of Macrotermes billicosus hasreached a height of nine to twelve feet, it containsmore than two million termites. They live, they work,and they breathe. Their oxygen con-sumption, which has been measured,is considerable. Without ventilationthey would all be suffocated withintwelve hours.

“These insects have establisheda strange and ingenious ventilationsystem...the nest proper, which is al-most round, with its royal cell in thecenter, and its many chambers, andpassages. Between it and the thick,hard outer wall there are narrow airspaces. Below it is there is a largerair space, the “cellar”. The centralstructure rests on conical supportsand is further anchored by lateralstruts.”

“Another air space above it reaches a long wayinto the nest proper, like a chimney. On the outsideof the mound, ridges or buttresses run from top tobottom ...Channels as thick as an arm radiate fromthe upper air space into the ridges where they divideinto many small ducts. These come together again toform channels as wide as the first leading into thecellar.”

Don’t these last two paragraphs sound like descrip-tions right out of an engineering handbook?

The author adds another bit of surprising informa-tion: “Though termites are found in all these structures,they do not act as ventilators as, for instance, bees dowhen they ventilate the hive by fanning their wings.The ventilation system of the termitary is completeyautomatic.” Imagine that.

A Technical Explanation“The air in the fungus chambers is heated by the

fermentation process taking place there. Like anytightly packed group of animals, the termites them-selves cause a rise in temperature. This hot air risesand is forced by the pressure of the continuous streamof hot air into the duct system of the ridges. The ex-terior and interior walls of these ridges are so porousthat they enable a gas exchange to take place. Car-bon dioxide escapes and oxygen penetrates from out-side. The ridges with their system of ducts might becalled the lungs of the colony. As has been experi-mentally confirmed, the air is cooled during its pas-sage through the ridges; this cooler, regenerated airnow flows into the cellar by way of its lower systemof wide ducts. From there it returns to the nest viathe surrounding air space, replacing the warmer ris-ing air.”

Air ConditioningThe book Alien Empire(4) gives us the author’s

observations of termites who accomplish feats of en-gineering. “Termite nests... [are] de-signed to provide air-conditioning.Their huge air-conditioning towersare major features in many tropicalsavanna landscapes.”

The book includes diagramswith these written descriptions,“Showing the complex fungus gar-den and the network of chimneyspaces through which hot air arisesas part of the termites sophisticatedair-conditioning system,” and “Acomputer generated simulation ofthe special vanes in the termites’nest, a vital part of the air-condi-tioning process. Worker termiteskeep the vanes damp, so the warm

air passing over them is cooled down as the waterdroplets evaporate.”

There’s even more. The author sums up, “It is re-markable that the worker termites have constructedthe equivalent of, in human terms, a skyscraper 6 mileshigh. And they are blind… The air-conditioning sys-tems of termites are so effective that human engineersare now constructing buildings with cooling systemsbased on termite design.” You may want to read thatagain.

Termite mound in Western Australia(Ohio State University)


Some Unanswered QuestionsDoesn’t all of this seem like a very complicated sys-

tem to you?If so, how could it develop by a process of trial

and error, by a series of accidents?How could thousands, maybe millions, of genera-

tions of the termite species survive while all of the tri-als and errors took place that would be necessary tofinally perfect the finished and faultless working airconditioning system?

Didn’t Von Frisch tell us that without the system,the colony would die within twelve hours?

Extraordinary Engineering KnowledgeAlien Empire continues, “This makes it even more

remarkable that meaningful reactions to extraordinarysituations, or what one might call emergencies, havebeen observed. When a termite mound was envelopedin a plastic tent so that ventilation was seriously im-peded, the termites managed within 48 hours to buildnew structures at the top of the mound, which lookedsomewhat like small pointed hats and had exception-ally pointed out walls so that they functioned as a newventilation system!”

As incredible as it sounds, not only has a compli-cated and efficient engineering system been describedto us, but an ability to even engineer brand new itemsto react to an emergency.

What Else Do They Need besides AirConditioning and Ventilation?

“Ventilation is not the only problem of termitecommunities. Water is another. A great deal of wateris needed because the inhabitants with their tenderskins require a humid atmosphere. In the nests ofMacrotermes, relative humidity is 89% to 99%. Muchwater is also needed for consumption, for makingmortar, and for other purposes. In arid regions, ter-mites may dig to enormous depths to tap the ground-water table. Some desert termites were found that drivebore holes down to water at a depth of some 120 feet.The construction of such deep shafts through loosesoil is a truly prodigious feat of civil engineering forthese small animals.”

Precise EngineeringDr. von Frisch devotes a large section of his book to

honeybees. He first points out that bees do not use tri-angle or square shapes for the honeycomb cells, but heremarks on what they do use, “the amount of buildingmaterial required for cells of the same capacity is the leastin the hexagonal construction, and hence that such apattern is the most economical design for warehouses.”

We have to wonder, do bees use this best shapefor honeycomb cells by accident or by some sort ofdesign?

The author continues, “Anyone lifting a full honey-comb for the first time will find it amazingly heavy. Acomb measuring 14.6 by 8.86 inches can hold morethan four pounds of honey. Yet in the manufacture ofsuch a comb, the bees use only about 1.4 ounces ofwax! The relationship between the construction of acomb and its strength would seem to be a worthwhilesubject for study.

“When bees start building, they first attach them-selves to each other in chains. Soon they form them-selves into a dense ball, the building cluster withinwhich they maintain a temperature of 95 degrees—the temperature needed for the secretion of wax.”

Let’s look at honey comb cell construction. Youmight think honey bees work on one cell, complete it,then start the next one. That would be logical and theeasiest way. Not so, however, instead honey bees buildcells the hard way, working on the next cells beforethe first ones are finished. As author explains, “Theydo not build one complete cell after another. Whilethe lateral walls of the first cells are gradually beingadded to, new adjoining cells are being started lowerdown. As these triangular sections are enlarged later-ally, they gradually coalesce from the top down. Thejoins are so skillfully made that no trace of the sepa-rate beginnings remain visible.

“This is even more remarkable when one consid-ers that many bees are employed in the building ofeach individual cell and that they often relieve eachother at intervals of no more than half a minute or so.Apparently each bee immediately comprehends whatstage the construction has reached at the place whereshe starts to work and continues accordingly.”

More complexity is added to the job of cell con-struction. Notice, “Right from the start the cells meetat the correct angle of 120 degrees...”

It is not just the shape of the cells that dependsupon the skill of their builders; skill is just as muchneeded to vary the size of the cells for worker beesand drones, to manufacture such extraordinarily thinwalls, and to orient them accurately in space.

None of these things just “happen,” they are theresult of work directed to a purpose.

“The cell walls are built with a gradient of about13 degrees from base to opening. This is sufficient toprevent the thick honey from running out. The distancefrom the wall to that opposite is 0.205 inches in aworker cell, and 0.24 inches in a drone cell. The thick-ness of the cell walls is 0.0029 inches, with toleranceof no more than 0.001 inches.”

All of this seems to be extremely complicated en-gineering. We have to wonder how these remarkablecreatures measure to such strict requirements: 120degree angles, 13 degree gradients, 0.205 inches, 0.24inches, 0.0029 inches, 0.001 inches. That some sort of


precise measuring must continually take place is obvi-ous, but where are their measuring instruments?

Von Frisch agrees, “What truly astounding preci-sion! Economy in the use of building material is thustaken to the utmost limit. Human craftsmen could notdo the work of this nature without the use of carpen-ters squares and sliding gauges.”

Tools for Tiny EngineersVon Frisch answers, “The bee’s own head serves as

a plummet to determine the line of gravity. It rests ontwo pivots forming part of the outer skeleton of thethorax and its center of gravity lies below this articu-lated connection. Hence, if a bee sits with her headpointing upward, it’s heavier, lower part will be pulledtoward the thorax by the force of gravity.

“In a downward position, the head is automati-cally rotated in the opposite direction. These gravitypulls are accurately registered by a tactile organ con-sisting of a set of highly sensitive bristles on the tips ofthese pivots. Any position at an angle to the vertical isregistered by a characteristic distribution of pressureon the set of sensory hairs.

“This is the way bees control both their own posi-tion in space and the position for the comb, which isalways built vertically downward.”

“It has been possible to prove experimentally theimportance of these sensory organs in the bees’ necksfor their building activities and for the correct orienta-tion of the cell walls.”

So there you have it. A summary of the special toolsare:

• The head serves as a plummet• Two pivots• Highly sensitive bristles• Sensory hairs.

The Engineering of Cell MakingThe book The World of Bees(2) tells us more about

honey bee cell-making engineering. “The worker cellwill be built exactly 4.83 cells to the inch...How can somany tiny minds gauge 4.83 cells to the inch so ex-actly? Even an engineer would need all sorts of instru-ments to measure. The bees have none.”

“It is completely incredible that, with thousands ofbees coming up and adding their bit of wax to the spotwhere the “drawing out” is going on, you don’t get athousand different variations of shape and thickness. You’reled to the conclusion that every one of these thousands ofinsects in her own right must be a trained engineer.

“Each bee adds only a tiny part to a given area ofcomb. Yet each cell ends up the same size and shapeas all the others.”

“The author goes on to tell us about the marvel-ous way cell walls are built. The walls are so thin and

light “ And yet these tiny engineers know that waxthis thin will hold their honey store perfectly It can becarefully transported across the United States or Eu-rope without damage.”

There’s more. The author adds that each bee as sheadds her wax to the cell thins it down, leaving a thickpart at the top, just as she found it. All subsequent cellbuilders do the same, thinning their contribution down,leaving the thick top intact. The thick top is necessaryto support the heavy weight of each contributor, yetthe vital thinness is perfectly maintained.

The author sums up cell making, “So the combsprogress downward and sideways, with bee space be-tween of just the right width, as if a human engineerhad planned it meticulously. Hundreds of thousand ofbees will dab at every bit of it, mold it, and change it.Again, remember that there is no master planner in abee tree. Yet the proper spacing, the proper size to thecells, comes out as if a foreman stood over the beeswith a set of blueprints.”

In SummaryUsing mostly evolution supporting sources, we haveseen the word “engineer” or “engineering” appliedsome eleven times to non-humans.We have studied the following:1. Bees that maintain a 93 degree constant temperatureneeded for larvae development, with only one degreeof variation.2. Bees air-condition their hive by fanning their wings(400 times a second) and by bringing in water.3. Blind termites construct the equivalent of a six milehigh skyscraper. With no overseer.4. Termite structures are called evidence of a definitebuilding plan.5. Short sides of termite structures that face exactlynorth and south.6. Automatic air-conditioning in termite structures.7. Termite air-conditioning methods are now studiedby human engineers.8. When their air-conditioning was restricted, the ter-mites within 48 hours constructed new vents.9. Termites as a major civil engineering feat dig downas much as 120 feet for water.10. A dense ball-like cluster of bees maintains a con-stant wax making temperature of 95 degrees.11. Thousands of honey bees, working independently,nevertheless construct precisely engineered honeycombcells.12. Multiple numbers of bees work on each cell, for amaximum of thirty seconds, yet all completed are cellsexactly the same.13. Worker cells are exactly 4.83 cells to the inch.14. The cell walls are precisely engineered, 0.0029 inchesthick, to a tolerance of only 0.001 of an inch.


15. Cell construction and honey retention requires themaintenance of a gradient of 13 degrees.16. The honey bee’s head serves as it’s vitally neededplumb tool.17. Honey bees air-conditioning is so efficient hives haveeven survived barn fires.

Some Additional QuestionsThe fact these insects and animals receive no

schooling or training during their lifetime is obvious.Where, then, did their sophisticated and precise knowl-edge come from? How is it so perfectly passed to theiroffspring?

The intangible something in nature that previousgenerations of humans without computers called “in-stinct”, we can better understand as “programming.”Doesn’t it seem logical that this engineering knowl-edge and ability had to have been “programmed” intothese creatures? If so, can there be programming ofinformation by accidental chance? Can there be pro-gramming without a Master Programmer?

Evolution instructs us we have to picture a scenethat happened millions and millions of years ago; aseething ocean and a blob of algae. Suddenly an ex-ceptionally massive bolt of lightening strikes the blobof algae! It thus received life, crawled out of the sea,and began it’s millions of years journey of evolving intoliving molecules, into a fruit fly, then to other forms,and eventually evolved into apes, and finally into hu-mans.

What is missing from this scenario?Well, lots of things. But certainly a prime missing

ingredient is information— knowledge.Is any knowledge present in ocean water? Is any

knowledge present in a blob of algae? Is any knowl-edge present in a bolt of lightning?

Where, then, did the highly specialized engineer-ing knowledge come from that is obviously part of themakeup of the creatures we have just studied? Fur-thermore, how is this detailed knowledge and trainingpassed on to the offspring of each creature?

A Final QuestionWe have to ask ourselves, are all the things we have

just studied, including the 17 items summarized above,more logically the result of:

Evolution, which admittedly is:mindless,purposeless,accidental chance?

Or, more logically the result of:planning,design,a master engineer,a Creator God?

Which one makes more sense to you?

Bibliography(1) Microcosmos by Claude Nuridsany and Marie Perennon,published by Stewart, Tabori and Chang, New York, no yeargiven.(2) Animal Architecture published 1974 by Harcourt BraceJovanovich, Ind., USA.(3) Alien Empire by Christopher O’Toole, published 1996by Crowood Press, Ramsbury, England.(4) Insects and Spiders, various authors, published 2000 byDiscovery Channel, Retail, Random House.(5) Nature’s Ways published 1969 by Crown Publishers, Inc.,New York.(6) The World of Bees by Murray Hoyt, published 1965 byBonanza Books, New York.(7) Botany for Gardeners published 1957 by the MacmillanCompany, New York.(8) The Secret Life of Plants by Peter Tompkins and Chris-topher Bird, 1973 by Harper and Row, New York.————————————C. Spencer Frazier writes a regular column for Servants’News called “Creation Corner.” Mr. Frazier is a retiredMortgage Banker living in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.His long business background includes founder andpresident of Columbia Mortgage Company, Inc., De-troit, Michigan. He also founded Spencer Real EstateCompany, Inc., Detroit, Michigan. He has been a Sab-bath keeper since 1964 when he was baptized by aminister of the Worldwide Church of God. Frazier is avoracious reader with a special interest in science andnature. “Creation Corner” started as a writing projectto leave a legacy for his grandchildren that has ex-panded to reach others.

Bible Trivia QuizWhere are these scriptures found?

1) “As for me and my house, we shall serve theLord?”

2) “Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, andstubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.”

3) “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift ofGod is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

4) “Here is the patience of the saints: here arethey that keep the commandments of God,and the faith of Jesus.”

5) “And it repented the LORD that he had mademan on the earth, and it grieved him at hisheart.”

Answers: 1) Joshua 24:15; 2) 1 Sam. 15:23; 3) Rom.6:23; 4) Rev. 14:12; 5) Gen. 6:6


In June, in different parts of the world, people arecelebrating Father’s Day. They give their dads cards,gifts, parties, and cakes, and make them feel specialand loved, and glad that they are fathers. This is anannual occasion in which dads are honored. Certainly,dads should be honored and respected every day ofthe year, but it’s nice to set aside one day per year togive dad special treatment.

Our biological, adopted, and in-law fathers arevery important to us here on earth. But what aboutour heavenly Father? He is the creator of us all, andHe is the being that loves us most. He is the Father ofall mankind. Maybe you’ve never thought about itthis way before, but isn’t there a day that we payhonor and respect to God the Father, not annually,but weekly? Of course I’m talking about the weeklySabbath. Every week, from sunset Friday night to sun-set Saturday night, we have a 24-hour period calledthe Sabbath. This seventh day is a sign between Godand His people because only His true believers under-stand its meaning and purpose. The weekly Sabbathis really a “Father’s Day” when we give honor, re-spect, and thanks to God, and when we spend qual-ity time with Him, talking to Him and studying Hisword.

To many believers, the Sabbath is simply a day torest, perhaps not to work, in which you try to attendchurch services to meet with fellow believers and tohear a message. Why did I write it that way? BecauseI was trying to include all of the common Sabbath“practices” that I’ve observed throughout my life.When one mentions Sabbath “practices,” usually thefirst scripture that you think of is “The Sabbath wasmade for man, and not man for the Sabbath (Mark2:27).” But does this mean that a person can do what-ever they want on the Sabbath? Of course, everyonehas free will, but what is God’s will for His day? Whatmost benefits both us and God? Let’s continue withthe analogy.

Preparation. Would you plan a Father’s day partythe morning of Father’s day, or would you spend daysor weeks preparing? You would invite guests, or plana private family party, choose the perfect gift and thecard to go with it. You would clean the house andwear your best clothes. You would do everything youcould to make it a special day for your dad. How muchmore should we be prepared for the Sabbath eachweek? We have six days to prepare and there is no

reason not to be prepared. I remember one womansaying that every Sunday she begins the process ofpreparing for the following Sabbath, ironing clothes,cleaning the house, and preparing food.

The Israelites’ journey through the wildernessgives us a clear example of God’s desire for His peopleto be prepared for the Sabbath (Exodus 16:22-30).Every Friday, He gave the Israelites twice as muchmanna as usual, and they were instructed to collecta double portion. If they did not, then anything theytried to collect on the Sabbath would rot and theywouldn’t have anything to eat until Sunday morn-ing. How powerful a lesson this is! What if today,when we neglected to prepare meals before the Sab-bath, and we tried to “collect” food by purchasing iton the Sabbath, that anything we purchased wouldrot? I’m afraid that most of us wouldn’t eat on theSabbath.

What things can we do to prepare for the Sab-bath? Well, we can purchase food ahead of time,and even prepare parts of meals or whole meals tosave work. We can start cleaning the house onThursday and finish cleaning on Friday. We can haveour clothes ironed. We can set aside the things wewant to bring to church. We can put gas in ourcars. With all of these things finished before theSabbath, we will truly have a day free from stressand anxiety.

Rest and Renewal. Yes the Sabbath is a day ofrest. It is a rest from our daily work, a rest from soci-ety, and a rest for the cares of the world. But doesthat mean that if you’re so exhausted from the week’swork that you can go to bed early on Friday night,and then sleep all Saturday afternoon after services?What if you’re “too tired” to go to church? Do youjust stay home? Back to the analogy.

What if you called your dad on Father’s day andsaid that you were “too tired” to go and see him, orthat you wanted to cancel the party you had plannedfor him? Wouldn’t he be disappointed? Father’s Dayis only once a year for him, so you missing it wouldhurt him. Or what if you went over to see your dadon Father’s Day and just fell asleep on the couch?Wouldn’t he be offended? How much more hurt anddisappointed would our Father God be if we were“too tired” to take part in the Holy convocation Hehas planned for us each week? Or if we spend the

The Real Father’s DayBy Barbara de Parada


whole Sabbath sleeping? How much time can youspend with God if you are asleep?

Contrary to what most of us humans believe orunderstand, praying, studying God’s Word, and attend-ing church services are necessary activities for a spiri-tual renewal. Most of us are too busy and distractedduring the week to spend as much time as we needcommunicating with God and reading the Bible. Everyweek, God has given us a whole 24 hours when wecan get “back on track,” refocus, and gain the spiri-tual strength we need to face a new week. If we sleepthrough church and through the Sabbath, we face theweek just as tired spiritually as we were on Friday.

Activities. Back to doing what you want on theSabbath. Of course you can do what you want. Butwhat you want isn’t always what God wants and isn’talways what is best for you. What if, on Father’s Day,you went over to your dad’s house and spent two hourswatching soccer (and your dad hates soccer), and thenyou spent 2 more hours talking to your friends aboutsoccer, and left without even talking to your dad? Howwould that make your dad feel on his day? So, what ifwe spend all day Sabbath dwelling on the things ofthis world, instead of on the spiritual things? You can’tlearn much about God on TV watching sports, car-toon, movies, or even the news. And, as Christ said inMatthew 12:34 “out of the abundance of the heart,the mouth speaks.” If all you have to talk about withothers is your favorite soccer team or soap opera, thenthat is what is on your heart rather that the things ofGod. Am I saying that God doesn’t care about socceror soap operas? Well probably not, but the point isthat on His day He wants us to talk about Him, praiseHim, and share Him with others. He also wants us totalk to him and study more about Him and His ways.We in the church have a unique opportunity to com-pletely forget the world for 24 hours every week. Wecan forget the atrocities, materialism, idolatry, andperversity of this world. So why do we want to stay inthe world every Sabbath? Why do we want to partici-pate in its useless activities?

Keeping the world out of our homes and our livesis a constant battle for the Christian. It is even moredifficult to do on the Sabbath when the whole worldis working, buying, selling, and doing whatever theywant. But God calls us out of the world and wants usto different (II Corinthians 6:17). And how we keepthe Sabbath makes the people in the world see us asdifferent. If we do the same things on Friday nightand Saturday that we do every other day of the week,how will people know that we are God’s people? Howwill our lights shine?

The fourth commandment, “honor the Sabbathday to keep it holy,” has often been called the “test

commandment.” It is one of the most difficult com-mandments to obey because it is so hard to changeour daily routine and do things differently every Sab-bath. But yet it is what God expects of us, not onlyfor His benefit, but for ours as well. We need thebreak from the world, to spend time with our fami-lies, to forget the stress of work and life, and to bespiritually renewed.

Service. Finally, let’s talk about service. What if,on Father’s day, you hosted a party for you dad. Whenhe arrived, you sat down on the couch and proceededto give your dad orders like “bring me a coke,” “canyou see who is at the door?” “can you bring morefood to the table,” etc. Or, what if you took your dadout to a restaurant and invited a lot of people thatyour dad had never met. Do you think your dad wouldenjoy either of these types of parties?

Jesus Christ gave us dozens of examples in thegospels about how we can serve others on the Sab-bath. In fact, He made it a point to show us that it isour duty to serve others, not ourselves, on the Sab-bath (Matthew 12:11-12; Luke 13:15-16).

As human beings, we are most often concernedwith ourselves and our comfort, rather than others.How can we serve others on the Sabbath? We couldinvite people to join us for lunch at a local restau-rant. But who is really being served here? Ourselves,right? What are we doing, other than paying the bill?Wouldn’t it be much more giving of ourselves to openour home and lovingly prepare a special meal for ourbrethren, rather than letting strangers in a restau-rant serve them? Do we own a car? Isn’t there achurch member nearby that we could take to ser-vices? Can we help before services or during coffeebreak? Can we greet others as they arrive? Few peoplerealize or acknowledge that serving others is servingGod (Matthew 25:40). What better way to show loveto others than by serving them!

Let us all try to make each “Father’s Day” Sab-bath a day of difference for ourselves, our families,and our brethren in the church. God’s Sabbath is forour benefit too, so let’s use it wisely (Isaiah 53:13;Nehemiah 10:31).This article is dedicated to my dad, who taughtme, with his words, and with his example, to

respect and honor the Sabbath day and totruly make it a “day of difference.”

———————Barbara de Parada, daughter of Rich and Shirley Nick-els, lives near San Salvador, El Salvador, with her hus-band Roberto Parada. Barbara and Roberto are thefounders of a ministry called Close to You, Inc. (http://www.closetoyouinc.org/).


As we mourn injury and the loss of life resultingfrom the conflict in Iraq today, I can’t help but recallthe mourning of the ancient captives of that land wherea remnant still remains today.

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea,we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged ourharps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For therethey that carried us away captive required of us a song;and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying,‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion.’ How shall we singthe LORD’S song in a strange land? If I forget thee, OJerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If Ido not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to theroof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above mychief joy,” Psalm 137:1-6.

The former Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, and manyMuslim’s put the Iraqi conflict within the context of alarger conflict referred to as the “holy jihad” for Jerusa-lem and the liberation of Palestine. Saddam coined thephrase “the mother of all wars,” referring to the U.S.-Iraqi conflict that began the Gulf War in 1991. It maybe that the greatest of all wars is yet to be fought (seeZechariah 12:2; 14:2) that leads to Har Moghed(Rev.16:16) - “the mount of the appointed times.” Whatever the future holds, this should give us pause andcause to pray for peace.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall pros-per that love thee,” Psalm 122:6. ❑

War the light of Christ shone brightly in that nation,overrun and ground down under the heel of Nazi Ger-many. Many Christians suffered imprisonment anddeath in order to save those who had no legal protec-tion under Nazi rule. Many Jews and other “undesir-ables” escaped certain death because so many DutchChristians actively worked against the Nazi occupationto sequester these precious lives.

Now, in the Netherlands the churches are emptyand the light of Christ has nearly been extinguished.The aged and infirmed, those whose lives would havebeen snuffed out under the Nazis, are disposed of inthe sterile environment of hospital as victims of eutha-nasia or “mercy” killing as some call it. Instead of Chris-tian compassion toward the weak, they are eliminatedas worthless burdens on society in this post-Christianculture.

God is interested in what happens in local and in-ternational politics because His children are directlyaffected by the outcome of politics. When Jesus toldhis disciples to “go into all the world and make dis-ciples of all nations,” He truly intended to make thepolitical and social climate such that the gospel couldbe carried to all nations and tongues. Jesus died for allthe world, not just for those who are now in the Church,and God acts in the political and social realms in waysthat make it possible to bring more children into Hiskingdom. This is His objective—this is His will—, andwe as a Church must not be blasé about that fact. Wemust look to see where He is working and seek to joinHim in His work. He does not desire for anyone to per-ish in the Judgment, and that must be our desire also.We should be as passionate about making sure thatwe reach people with the life-saving knowledge of theTruth as God Himself is. Jesus said, “My Father works;therefore I work.” Each of us must be willing to saythe same thing.

We have just witnessed another war in the MiddleEast. Was God’s hand in it? I have no doubt that itwas. People have been set free from a horrible dicta-tor who delighted in seeing his enemies—both real andimagined—tortured, raped, gassed, and murdered incold blood. The freedom that now exists in the after-math of war is an open door for the preaching of thegospel. People who would probably never hear thegospel may now hear it for the first time. God’s handwill work (through His church) to reach the newly lib-erated people with the lifesaving message of JesusChrist so that more can be prepared for His kingdom.We will see many forces working to oppose this newopenness and the desire of missionary-minded Chris-tians to lead more people to Christ. These are the forces

of the devil. Just as God is active through the body ofChrist, the enemy is also active through his agents, andhe will attempt to steal the Truth away from the peoplebefore the seed of life has a chance to take root in thenew soil.

God is not a spectator in the affairs of men. Whenwe see war, politics, or the maniacal obsession withexpunging the name of God from all of society, Godtakes this seriously because these things affect His chil-dren, and they affect our own children as we seek toraise them in a godly manner. As Christians we mustknow that our God is not passive about the affairs ofthe society that surrounds us, and we should not beeither. Taking the gospel to all the world means thatwe must take this life-saving Truth to every corner ofsociety. This is not done by osmosis. It requires ourwillingness and our activity. Let’s be about our Father’swork. ❑

“Editorial” continued from Page 3.

“President’s Message” continued from Page 4.


The Church in the WorldThe Church in the WorldThe Church in the WorldThe Church in the WorldThe Church in the World

Dedicated Pastor Killed by RebelForcesCOLOMBIA—On January 27, uniden-tified gunmen stopped a public busand singled out one man from therest of the passengers. His name wasRev. Jose Juan Lozada Corteza, andhe served as pastor of the Evangeli-cal Christian Church in San Antonio,Colombia. The assailants forced Rev.Corteza off the bus and, in full viewof the bystanders, shot him in thehead. Rev. Corteza is survived by agrieving widow and children. Duringthe past decade, more than 100 pas-tors and priests have died violentlyat the hands of rebel forces. Pleasepray for God’s comfort for their fami-lies and also for His protection overthe pastors who continue to serve inspite of the danger. (Source:opendoorsusa.org)Christian Widow Appeals toJordan’s KingJORDAN—Christian widow SihamQandah received word on January 31

that apart fromdirect interven-tion by Jordan’sKing AbdullahII, she will bejailed for refus-ing to handover her twoyoung childrento be raised as

Muslims. Siham’s Christian husbanddied in 1994 while serving as a sol-dier. A few months after his death,Siham was told that her husband hadconverted to Islam just before hisdeath— meaning his surviving chil-dren should be raised as Muslims.Siham cannot believe her husbandwould do such a thing, and the onlysignature on his conversion certificatewas a scrawled “X.” For “L five years,Siham has fought a legal battle toretain custody of her children. Nowshe is appealing to Jordan’s king, herlast hope. Pray for God to soften the

king’s heart toward this widow andher children. (Source: opendoorsusa.org)

Jihad in NigeriaBy Greg Musselman, VOM Canada(April 29, 2003) For several yearsnow, radical Muslims in northern andcentral Nigeria have been carryingout a ‘holy’ war, or jihad, againstChristians.I found some of the most recent vic-tims in the hospitals of Nigeria’s Pla-teau state. Women, men, and chil-dren with bullet wounds, and deepslash marks on their necks and heads.The attackers, mostly Fulani Muslims,use guns and machetes as theirweapons of destruction. They makeno distinction between men,women, and children— who will notonly carry the physical scars for therest of their lives, but the emotionalones as well…Hundreds have been killed in Chris-tian villages throughout the state.Homes have been destroyed as theattacks against Christians have inten-sified.Selbol Oliver is a 40 year old husbandand father of 3. He was shot in theback during an attack on his village.He said, “Militant Muslims fromneighboring states and countrieshave come in to stir up trouble.That’s led to much death and de-struction.”Selbol said, “There is sadness in me.The reason for that sadness is thatmany people were killed. But I’m alsostrengthened, because this hastaught me to live more righteouslybefore God, and has strengthenedmy faith in God.”Dr. Steve Kitchen, an Orthopedic Sur-geon from Columbus, Ohio, joinedthe doctors in Nigeria.Dr. Kitchen said, “I love to come onthese trips, to see different people,and be able to teach some of the

medical techniques I’ve learned. Also,to impart something of the Lord.”He added, “But I also like to come,because anyone who comes and seesthese situations, and is with thesepeople, comes away with much morethan you could possibility bring[them].”Unfortunately there doesn’t seem tobe a clear end in sight to the murderand maiming of Christians in CentralNigeria. As a result doctors and medi-cal personnel from around the worldare desperately needed here to helpdeal with the ever growing list of vic-tims.”“There is no more satisfying way topractice medicine that I know of,”saidDr. Kitchen. “You get to do what youare trained to do. You get to helppeople that really need help. You getso much back in enjoyment and youget so much back from the Lord. Youcan’t out-give the Lord. You just comeaway with a real sense of what is hap-pening in His Kingdom.” (Source:Voice of the Martyrs, http://www.persecution.com)

Surrounded by Bloody Terror, aCourageous Bishop Stands FirmUGANDA—Nineteen-year-old JohnOkwir was forced by rebel soldiers tokill his own brother as the boy lay ina ditch. Such brutal, calculated hor-ror is just one example of the atroci-ties perpetrated in Uganda’s civil war,waged by the so-called Lord’s Resis-tance Army—a cultlike group—against the government. In the midstof the bloodshed, Anglican BishopBenjamin Ojwang is a beacon of com-passion and hope. He lives with hisfamily in Kitgum, one of the mostfiercely contested areas. “They comefor you between 4 and 5 in the morn-ing,” Benjamin says of the rebel at-tacks. At one point, all six of his chil-dren were kidnapped—then thank-fully returned. But in spite of the dan-ger, Benjamin says, “I am the shep-herd of my people. How could I pos-sibly leave?” Pray for his safety andthe safety of all Christians in this vio-lent land. (Source: opendoorsusa.org)


Teaching the Law CD’s arenow available f rom the BSA

Now available for $10 each, you may purchase Real Audio or MP3 format CD’s. Or if you prefer the set, thethree CD set in Real Audio is $25; the four CD set in MP3 format is $35.

Real Audio Volume 1: Lessons 1–220Volume 2: Lessons 221–434Volume 3: Divine Service &

Heaven & Hell

MP3 Volume 1: Lessons 1–111Volume 2: Lessons 112–230Volume 3: Lessons 231–350Volumes 4 & 5: Lessons 351–434

andDivine Law andHeaven & Hell

We have dropped the price of Teaching the Law cassettes to $2 each, or $1.75 for 30 or more tapes. Youmay request a free tape.

Postage: Please add a minimum of $2 or 10% for your order, $10 maximum.

Authority or Legality? Somescholars argue that Christ used theexample of David and of thepriests in order to show His au-thority to transcend the Sabbathlaw rather than to prove the le-gality of the disciples’ actionwithin that law. For them, “it is aquestion of authority rather thanof legality” that is at stake in thispassage. The comparison betweenthe priests and Christ is allegedlysupposed to show that “personswith authority” can override theSabbath. The ultimate conclusiondrawn from such reasoning is thatChrist’s authoritative teachingsupposedly anticipates the changein the day of worship, which, how-ever, did not actually occur untilafter the resurrection. Such rea-

soning reveals a genuine desire tofind grounds for Sunday obser-vance in Christ’s teaching, but itcannot be legitimately supportedby Christ’s arguments.

Did Christ appeal to the ex-ample of David and of the prieststo show that persons of authorityhave the right to supersede theSabbath law? Can human author-ity per se be regarded as a validcriterion to transcend God’s law?If this were true, there would beconstant conflict between humanauthority and divine precepts. Sucha conflict, however, does not existin Jesus’ reasoning. What He tellsthe Pharisees is not that the lawdoes not apply to important per-sons such as David or the priestsbut, on the contrary, that their ex-

ceptional conduct, like that of thedisciples, is contemplated by thelaw. This is clearly indicated by thecounter-question Christ asks twice:“Have you not read in the law ...?”(Matt 12:5; cf. v. 3).

Note that it is within the law(not outside it) that Jesus findsprecedents to defend the legalityof the disciples’ conduct. The dis-ciples were “guiltless” then, notbecause their authority (or that ofChrist) transcended the law, butbecause their action fell within theintention of the law itself. David Hillstresses this point in his commenton Matthew 12:5: “The verse pro-vides a precedent for the action ofthe disciples within the Law itselfand therefore places Jesus securelywithin the Law.”

The Sabbath under Crossfireby Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi

(Excerpt from pages 157 and 158)

(Available throughBSA. See ad onpage 23.)


Classified Ads...Classified Ads...Classified Ads...Classified Ads...Classified Ads... The SabbathUnder Crossfire

byDr. Samuele Bacchiocchi

A biblical analysis of RecentSabbath/Sunday developments;$15.00. The common anti-Sabbatharguments of Joseph Tkach, Dale

Ratzlaff, and others are thoroughly answered.

Dr. Bacchiocchi explains why many Sunday-keepersare now switching to the Sabbath. B224

Single white female, 5’3” 115 lbswould like to meet single white male

55-65 for friendship.L.W.

PO Box 7955Branson, MO 65616

(June 03)

————————————————————Sabbath Singles Connection (SSC)P.O. Box 647, Biggs CA 95917 USA

E-mail: [email protected] Web-site: http://home.inreach.com/

mikekawa/(July 03)

This attractive booklet lists six reasons why keepingthe Sabbath is important for today. The back cover isformatted so as to be suitable for stamping theaddess of your local congregation!Order code number P205 to purchase this booklet.They can be purchased for only $17 per 100 copies.This is an inexpensive but effective way to teachothers about God’s precious gift of His Sabbaths!

Why theSeventh-day

Sabbath?

Classified ads (20% discount for second time, 30%thereafter) are available at the rate of $1.00 per word (in-cluding each word and each group of numbers in theaddress; telephone numbers count as one word) for eachissue in which the ad is published.

Display ads are available at $150 per quarter page foreach issue the ad is published. Where possible your cam-era-ready copy will be utilized, or we will design your displayad for you. Send copy for all ads and payment to The BibleSabbath Association, 3316 Alberta Drive, Gillette, WY 82718.

Discounts: Advertise in the TSS Classified Ads section for morethan one issue and receive discounts: $1.00 per word 1st issue,20% off for 2nd issue, and 30% off for subsequent times.

Ad copy without payment will not be accepted forpublication. Deadline is two months prior to publication (i.e. ifyou want your ad to appear in the September/October issuewe must receive it before July). BSA reserves the right to rejector edit any ad copy. Publication does not necessarily implyendorsement by The Bible Sabbath Association or The Sab-bath Sentinel.

Advertise in The Sabbath Sentinel

The Seventh Day:Revelations from the Lost Pages ofHistory, with Hal Holbrook, VHS NTSC

videos, five-part series of thehistory of the Sabbath.Part One, 52 min., lays thefoundation for Sabbath in thecreation.Part Two covers Sabbathhistory from Jesus to thefourth century, 47 min.Part Three covers Patrick ofIreland through Wycliffe, 50min.

Parts Four & Five: Available at a futuredate.Any one: $23.00, or $5.00 for 14-dayLOAN; any two videos, $40, all threevideos for $65. V215

Shipping and Handlingon all orders

———————————————Nonmembers add $2 per order.


Ministering to theWalking Wounded

of Churches

If you are fed up with church politics,doctrinal conflicts, leadership crises,and the stress of endless organiza-tional upheavals, this book is for you.

Author Brian Knowles, former pastorand editor of Christian publications,reaches out to the walking woundedof God’s Church. If you are one ofthose who just wants out or havealready left your church group, thenyou need to read this book. It willhelp you restore the joy of a one-on-one relationship with God and rebuildtrue, loving fellowship with otherChristian brethren.

$9.00 per copy. Nonmembers add$2.00 per order for shipping.Item #B245

NON-PROFITORGANIZATION

US POSTAGEPAID

PERMIT NO. 500SPRINGDALE, AR

The Sabbath SentinelA Bi-monthly Publication of

The Bible Sabbath Association

HC 60 Box 8, Fairview, OK 73737 USA

Address Service Requested

sabbath sentinelthe thealways knew that,” but before you dub me a complete biblical ignoramus, let...

Documents